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32. HEADACHE 頭痛
JUNGKOOK SIPPED ON cherry tea slowly, leaning against his countertop. he felt exhausted and his head was pounding so much he thought it was going to cave in anytime soon.
it was his body reacting to the lack of sleep. he shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. he had been considering trying his sleeping pills again. since it had been so long since he last took them, he thought they might just work. but he couldn't find the damn bottle anywhere.
so he'd just played videogames all night, which, in retrospect, had been a terrible idea. the flashing images and the sounds only contributed to the headache he was now enduring until the painkillers took effect. slowly, he drank the last of his cherry tea, questioning his decision.
feeling weak, he dragged his feet to the living room, tossing himself on the sofa. one arm went over his eyes as he steadied his breath. this was one of those bad days.
the sound of his phone ringing made him groan. he should have put the damn thing on vibrate. pulling it out of his pocket, he swiped the answer button without checking the caller id. "hello?" he mumbled out.
"hey... dude, are you okay?" jimin's initially cheerful voice took on a worried note. "killer headache." he replied. "no sleep last night?" his older friend questioned. "yeah, played videogames till sunrise." he groaned.
jimin sighed on the other end of the line. "bad idea, i know." jungkook ran his hand over his face. "i'm coming over. you don't sound good at all." jimin's voice was full of concern. "don't worry about me, hyung. i'm not a kid." the younger boy assured. "that just makes me worry even more, y'know."
jungkook sighed. "i'll take care of myself. this isn't my first rodeo." he told him. "then why do i feel so uneasy?" jimin muttered but it was loud enough for jungkook to pick up. "why did you call?" he attempted to change the subject. "i just wanted to check up on you. i don't know, i woke up with this bad feeling. and looks like my gut was right."
"it's not a big deal, hyung." jungkook rolled his eyes but immediately regretted it when it felt like they were about to sink right into his skull. he grimaced, barely holding back a grunt. "there you go undermining your situation again." jimin sighed. "don't go out and just rest up, okay?" he instructed.
"okay," the younger friend responded. "promise me." jimin stated. "i promise." jungkook sighed out. "good. i'll be over later today to check on you and bring you some food."
"okay, have a good day, hyung." jungkook waited to hear jimin's hum of farewell before tossing the phone to the floor. he stared at the patterns the sun rays made on the ceiling as they sifted through his curtains.
"i feel like there's something i should remember." he mumbled softly into the air, eyes shutting. groaning, he turned on his side. did it usually take this long for painkillers to take effect?
his phone buzzed on the floor and he heaved a sigh, turning away from it. it was probably jimin checking up on him. when the phone buzzed again, he kicked his feet in annoyance, letting out a whining sound.
stretching out an arm, he felt around for the phone. if it was jimin, he was not going to stop texting until jungkook replied. squinting his aching eyes, he clicked on the notification. "oh shit!" he exclaimed, accidentally rolling off the sofa. "ahh! ahh!" he groaned in pain, rubbing the back of his head.
hand still on his aching head, his eyes glanced over the messages again. they were all from lia. he'd forgotten about his promise to go the art store with her.
• yaya 🌻 what do you think about metallic pens? i'm thinking of adding it to my shopping list
• jungkook they're pretty good
• yaya 🌻 you okay?
• jungkook ofc. why wouldn't i be?
• yaya 🌻 idk i just have a feeling
jesus, was he that obvious even over text? sighing, he stared at his screen for a moment. how could she tell from literally three words? he glanced through their previous messages to see if he'd somehow replied differently. but it didn't seem off to him. maybe his response would usually have been a bit more excited?
• jungkook i'm fine dw
• yaya 🌻 okay if you say so i'm going to find out in half an hour anyway
his gaze shot to the time on his phone. he had to get going to meet her in time. sifting his fingers through his hair, he slowly got on his feet. grabbing his wallet, he slipped into slide sandals and walked out the door. "i'm sorry, jimin."
the entire ride there, he leaned his head against the window, eyes shut. his headache had only subsided a little and the city noises were doing nothing to help him. "we're here." the driver announced. it took a moment for jungkook to realise he was talking to him.
"oh, thanks." he quickly paid the fare and stepped. "ugh," he shaded his eyes with his hand. he should have taken his sunglasses. walking slowly, he made his way to the store where lia worked.
he was a short distance away when he saw her stepping out. she looked over in his direction and smiled brightly, waving excitedly. he lifted a hand to wave back but his body felt heavier. he noticed a frown form on her face before he shut his eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
he was starting to feel dizzy as he moved towards her, his vision a bit hazy. "jungkook, are you okay?" he heard her call but her voice sounded farther than it should have. why did he feel like he was tipping backwards?
"jungkook!" the look of horror on her face was the last thing he saw before everything went black.
☀️☀️☀️
bet you didn't expect iiiitt sorry, no fluff today my dudes. the lack of sleep was bound to get to him at some point, and that point is now.
